Vice-Prime Minister Maya Tskitishvili about the Anaklia Deep Sea Port project

On March 21, the Vice-Prime Minister and the Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, Maya Tskitishvili, gave a speech at The Parliament of Georgia that was followed by the discussions regarding the Anaklia Deep Sea Port. The Vice-Prime Minister thanked the Parliament for the opportunity to present the position of the Government regarding the Port.

“In the past month, the issue of the Port has become widely discussed topic. There were many statements, questions and speculations that lacked real substance and may be harmful for the project” – said Tskitishvili.

She reminded the public that it was the Government who initiated the project initially, has been trying to support the consortium in fulfilling the project and is currently interested in successful implementation despite the difficulties. She made it clear that it is not only timely completion of the project that matters for the government, but also attitude of ADC foreign investors and overall investment climate of the country , since this project will largely determine investment appetite of future investors .

In her speech, Tskitishvili made it obvious that the Anaklia port construction is not under threat and expressed hope that a consensus will be achieved to guarantee the timely completion of this landmark for the country project.

The Vice-Prime Minister said that the Government is fully informed about the work that the Anaklia Development Consortium has done so far. Special government commission worked on overseeing the initial works that were conducted. The master plan, preliminary design and the stages are all agreed between parties as of today. She also confirmed that dredging and reclamation works were conducted in September and preliminary construction works began on December 24, 2018.

Tskitishvili also touched upon the responsibilities that the Government took regarding the Anaklia Deep Sea Port. The Government is obliged to provide rail and road infrastructure before the port starts operating with the total cost of GEL 200 million and GEL 120 million respectively. “The tender was launched in February 2019, four different companies applied and we are in the process of selection. By the end of March this process will be completed” – said Tskitishvili. She also mentioned that even though the deadline for fulfilling these obligations is April 9, 2021, the government is planning to complete the work before the set date.

Overall, message of the Vice-Prime Minister was very straightforward – Anaklia Deep Sea Port project is a breakthrough project for the country, its timely completion is in strategic and economic interests of the Georgian Government and they are willing to do everything possible to make it happen.